Save The Date - Next Double XP Weekend July 31st- August 2nd!

We know you've been waiting to hear so that you can meticulously craft your plan of attack! So go ahead - take off work, ignore all of your other responsibilities and stock up on easily grab-able snacks and beverages - we won't tell anyone! Just make sure to save the date because the next City of Heroes® Double XP weekend will begin Friday, July 31st 2009, at 8:59am PST (11:59am EST) and concludes Sunday, August 2nd 2009, 8:59pm PST (11:59pm EST). Don't miss out!

Issue 13 is coming

Issue 13: Architect will bring the much-anticipated Mission Architect, which will allow players to create their own missions and story arcs to share with the community. Other new features include two new powersets, new Cimerora missions, a new Merits rewards system and a new Day Jobs system which will allow characters to continue earning rewards whilst offline.

Zombie Apocalypse!

On Thursday, July 31st we will be doing a brief test of the 2008 Halloween Event on the Training Room Test Server at 1:30 PM Pacific and running approximately 2 hours. Along with previous year’s Trick or Treating we are also including a massive Zombie Apocalypse!

Zombie Apocalypse!

During the above testing time on the Training Room, be wary for the uneasy dead – they may assault any region in the game at any time! For those familiar with the Rikti Invasions, the Zombie assaults function in much the same manner. After the Halloween event has concluded, there will still be a period of an hour or more of occasional Zombie activity.

Apocalypse Associated Badges

There are a number of badges associated with fighting off hordes of Zombies. These badges correspond to overcoming each different Zombie type (Minions, Lieutenants, Bosses and Elite Bosses) in certain numbers for each type.

Trick or Treating

Like the previous years Halloween Events, while the event is running players will be able to investigate various doors throughout zones that are level appropriate for their characters to either receive a naughty Trick (the spawning of a number of different critters) or a special Treat. The Trick or Treating aspect has changed slightly from previous years. Treats can be Inspirations, Event Salvage or Temporary Powers / Costumes. For more details (spoilers) about last year’s Halloween Event, visit the excellent player created resource Paragonwiki.

We have made some adjustments to Trick or Treating based on your feedback from previous years. For this test, we would like your feedback about how often Tricks or Treats are given out, as well as the frequency you can Trick or Treat, and the spawn sizes encountered when you get a Trick while part of a group. The current parameters are as follows: A person can only click on a door once every 5 minutes. When they click the door, their name is added to a list kept on the door. If their name is on the list, they can't use that door. That list is cleared every 5 minutes. There is a 10 second timer preventing you from clicking another door immediately. Spawns will spawn according to the team size of the player opening the door. If the spawns have no one to fight for a period of time, they move to a door and leave. If they can't get to a door, they will just fade out.

We invite everyone who is interested to join us on the Training Room for this playtest and to provide feedback based on your play experience in The Training Room Discussion Thread.

--------------------Lighthouse Community Relations Manager

Villains and Heroes Merge

There is a reason for the rejoicing in Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. It is official – NCsoft has completely merged the two games into one game universe. All current subscribers who only had one of the games (City of Heroes or City of Villains) now have access to the features of both games. Additionally, all City of Heroes and City of Villains games for sale at retail or online will grant access to both games.